University of the Year

1st place

University of the Year

The best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2018 QS World University Rankings

Ranked 4th

2019 Guardian University Guide

Ranked 6th

Times Higher Education ‘Table of Tables’ 2018

Ranked 7th

Complete University Guide 2019

Programme information

Students who choose an MRes in Digital Technologies will receive guidance from academics leading research in the fields of data science, Internet, communications, and multimedia technologies. Academics will share their expertise on Internet and Communication Networks and Principles of Data Science, to enable students to gain specialised knowledge of these fields.

The MRes programme will enable students with a passion for research to widen their skills, focus their interests and take the next step towards a PhD or future career.

Studying an MRes with Loughborough University London will give students a fascinating introduction into the life of a postgraduate researcher. The MRes programme has been carefully designed to empower graduates with rigorous research and analytical skills, in order to progress onto high level researcher positions within their chosen sector or field.

The MRes programme will explore the research processes, and uncover the designs, practices and methodologies used by experienced researchers from a range of disciplines. Whilst a traditional taught master’s degree programme focuses on the development of expertise in a chosen area, an MRes places more emphasis on the individual to uncover new knowledge and develop their own research expertise.

In addition to a major research project all students studying an MRes programme will complete taught units such as:

The Collaborative Research Project

Research Design, Practice and Ethics

Quantitative Research Methods

Foundations in Qualitative Research

Entry requirements

Minimum of an upper second class honours degree or equivalent in a wide range of subjects. In exceptional circumstances an applicant may be admitted to the degree who does not possess the requirements mentioned, but who has substantial relevant work experience.

English Language requirements

All applicants for admission to Loughborough University must have a qualification in English Language before they can be admitted to any course or programme, whether their first language is English or not.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees cover the cost of your teaching, assessment and operating University facilities such as the library, IT equipment and other support services. The tuition fees for 2019/20 entry are:

£10,550 (UK/EU)

£24,750 (International)

University fees and charges can be paid in advance and there are several methods of payment, including online payments and payment by instalment. Special arrangements are made for payments by part-time students.

Programme aims

To gain advanced knowledge of the research processes, designs, practices and methodologies

To acquire in-depth training in the conduct and management of research, from its inception to its completion and dissemination

To develop your independent research capacity

To explore and reflect on their developing research skills in the context of their areas of research interest and their growth as professional researchers

To critically analyse ethical aspects of academic research and gain advanced ability to deal with ethical problems and challenges

Programme modules

This programme covers a wide range of topics; to give you a taster we have expanded on some of the modules affiliated with this programme and the specific assessment methods associated with each module.

To complete the MRes Digital Technologies students must complete 7 modules. Students must select two optional modules and should seek advice on which modules to choose at the beginning of the academic year, depending on their research plans.

Core modules

This module focuses on research in a real-world context. On completion of the module, you will have completed a full rapid cycle of teamwork-based empirical research originating from a problem set by a real organisation, community, business or similar. You will spend the module identifying appropriate approaches and research methods, planning and executing the research and disseminating the results back to their external project partner.

This exciting module will encourage you to learn and apply concepts related to team roles, collaborative working and shared leadership. You will be expected to apply social science and design research methods, whilst utilising their critical thinking and reflection skills.

You will also engage with the project by developing your practical research skills and project management skills, and will discover how to successfully manage stakeholder expectations, while giving practical consideration to research ethics and sustainability issues.

This hands-on module acts as a springboard for those wishing to gain an introduction to the issues related to real-world research, in preparation for an MRes Dissertation or subsequent PhD.

Learning outcomes

On completion of this module you should be able to:

Work in diverse and interdisciplinary research teams

Understand and be able to undertake a project and team based real-world research process

Apply critical enquiry, reflection, and appropriate methods to identify, frame, and resolve issues and problems related to research initiatives.

Identify stakeholder issues, values and worldviews, while collecting and analysing evidence-based information and knowledge to develop appropriate research insights, practices and outputs.

Identify, structure and reflect on key issues and propose solutions to undertaking research in creative ways using appropriate qualitative and quantitative research methods

Enhance their appreciation for diversity and divergent individual and disciplinary perspectives

Be able to provide structured, reflective and critical feedback to peers and other stakeholders

Plan and implement a real-world and team based research initiative including identifying problems, objectives, resources, timing, and appropriate qualitative and quantitative research methods

Effectively communicate research ideas, methods and results to diverse stakeholders, using multi-channel, state of the art data, media and technologies

Make informed, critical and reflective decisions in time-limited situations

Assessment

The content of this module is developed around current practice in qualitative research in a range of disciplinary fields. Content is drawn from the intended learning outcomes and is linked to the module assessment.

The module content covered includes:

How to become a skilled qualitative researcher

Epistemological and theoretical issues related to qualitative research

Assessment

The aims of this module are to prepare you for research planning, design and execution cycles when carrying out research. You will discover how to implement good research practices and adopt professional research ethics. The module will also equip students with the relevant skills, knowledge and understanding to embark onto a professional research career in industry or academia.

Research execution stages will be discussed in detail. These include choosing the best research methods, executing the most efficient, professional and ethical research process and achieving set objectives.

Students will discover the best possible data collection methods and will understand how to perform critical analysis of data including comparison against the state of the art available in the public domain.

The importance of applying a self-check process at all stages is also covered, to ensure that students are aware of the correct methods and means to reach their intended research goals. All of these topics are of vital importance and will ensure students maintain a professional attitude towards research and critical analysis.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this module you should be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

The importance of design and planning of the overall task in hand

The importance of a clear hypothesis and coordination of the research objectives

The importance of efficient execution of the planned strategy to achieve the objectives

The ethical implications and the importance of professional approach to ethical issues in research

The methodologies for data collection or knowledge assimilation for the subject area

Methods of data analysis and their suitability for the intended data

The most effective methods of presentation of this data or knowledge Skills

Assessment

By the end of this module you will be able to make informed assessments of the design and construction of quantitative data sources and their implications for analyses. The module will carefully guide you through the best methods to appropriately prepare and analyse quantitative data using statistical software; and apply and interpret a range of forms of statistical analysis competently, including descriptive, inferential and multivariate techniques.

The module will focus on concepts, methods and skills central to quantitative social research, including data collection approaches and concept operationalisation. Building on a grounding in ideas relating to probability sampling, sampling error and statistical inference will extend from comparisons of means and simple cross-tabular analyses to a discussion of multivariate analysis approaches, including linear and logistic regression, but also introducing other techniques relevant to specific analytical goals (e.g. factor analysis, ANOVA, principal components analysis, cluster analysis and hazard models).

Teaching methods will mostly consist of practical classes and workshops. You will gain hands-on familiarity with existing, high profile quantitative sources, including longitudinal studies, and the practicalities of handling data from such sources. This module can act as a springboard for those wishing to gain more specific and advanced quantitative skills in subsequent training, in preparation for an MRes Dissertation or subsequent PhD.

Learning outcomes

On completion of this module you should be able to:

Critically reflect on and provide well-grounded analysis of the appropriate type of quantitative analysis required for a specific research project;

Understand the validity and robustness of the findings reported upon in research;

Critically reflect upon the presented results and the extent to which these support conclusions drawn in research;

Translate research question into research model into quantitative analysis strategy;

Assessment

The aims of this module are to give you an opportunity to research a related subject in detail, and present the findings in a format that best suits your academic strengths and future career goals.

The module will create an opportunity for you to put into practice real research skills and knowledge by leaning about a specific area, understanding the current problems through investigating the related state of the art and proposing solutions to push the frontiers forward in your chosen subject area.

Detailed experimentation (where possible), critical analysis of your results and effective presentation of the findings are three key milestones of this module.

You have a choice of project pathways:

A research project suggested by you or your academic supervisor, which will be mutually agreed and carried out within the University, with or without links to the external organisations.

A University-based research project that is set by an external organisation and supervised by your University supervisor in collaboration with tan external organization representative.

A research project that involves direct collaboration and placement/visits to an external organization (subject to a suitable placement position being obtained)

Learning Objectives

On successful completion of this module, you should be able to:

Articulate a clear, coherent and original research question, hypothesis or business problem in a suitable subject area

Synthesise relevant sources (e.g. research literature, primary data, obtained results) to construct a coherent argument in presenting their findings to their research objectives

Analyse data collected by an appropriate method during their research project

Critically evaluate data collected in context with the state of the art available in public

Engage in critical debate and argumentation in written work

Apply principles of good scholarly practice to their written work

Perform an appropriate literature review using library databases or other reputable sources

Determine the most appropriate research methods for a particular subject area

Plan a research project and produce a realistic gantt chart demonstrating their intended timelines

Synthesise information from appropriate sources

Demonstrate rational use of research methods and available tools

Select and use appropriate investigative and research skills

Demonstrate effective project planning skills

Find and evaluate scholarly sources

Engage in critical reasoning, debate and argumentation

Demonstrate effective researching to reach the set objectives

Demonstrate effective presentation and report writing skills

Successfully manage a project from idea to completion

Demonstrate commercial awareness or the impact of knowledge transfer in a business or research environment

You should also be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

The importance of research project planning

The importance of researching the state of the art and understanding the subject area using literature review or other means such as software programmes, standard specifications etc.

Theoretical as well as practical perspectives of the research objectives

Methods of data analysis and their suitability for the intended project objectives

The most effective methods of presentation of the collected and analysed data to relate it to the project objectives

Assessment

You will be introduced to MATLAB programming tools and environments, and will develop an understanding of programming in C++, a basic tool for developing digital systems and applications. Specific topics covered include C++ programing, objective foundation and advanced programming techniques such as class and structure, MATLAB programming skills and simulation tools.

Formulate creative data solutions that start with cleaning up raw data sets, to discover new patterns that are underlying, to make necessary predictions, utilizing established state-of-the-art tools and techniques

Assessment

The next stage in the Future Internet is to progressively evolve to a network interconnected with environments including objects. The Internet of Things (IoT) is involved in interaction and communication between objects and furthermore, with the environment to support decision making, improve situational awareness, increase operational efficiency and enable to explore new business models.

This module explores the emerging computing concepts and deployment of emerging IoT platforms and devices. The module will present the usage scenarios of communication and highly scalable consumption of data from geographically dispersed physical objects and sensors and the processing and delivery of such data to end-users. Sensing, tracking, monitoring, actuator, data & control service, data processing, information management, integration methodology, and M2M are among the other topics covered. Students will also be introduced to recent examples of smart cities & smart homes.

The aim of this module is to provide you with the knowledge and understanding of computing concepts related to the emerging IoT platforms and devices and their deployment.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this module, you should be able to:

Demonstrate understanding of the main concepts into the usage scenarios of IoT communication and highly scalable consumption of data from geographically dispersed physical objects and sensors, as well as the processing and delivery of such data to end-users;

Interaction and communication between objects and with the environment to support decision making, improve situational awareness, and increase operational efficiency;

Modern applications of smart cities and smart homes;

Understand the concepts pertaining to the IoT systems;

Critically analyse and reflect on the limitations and problems faced in those systems and relate some possible solutions;

Analyse the emerging IoT platforms and devices, and the associated technologies considered in their design;

Distinguish the requirements pertaining to different contextual information collected and exploited within different IoT scenarios;

Assessment

This module introduces the you to applications containing multimedia design, creation and distribution over networks. In particular, multimedia transmission aspects over the Internet Protocol are covered.

First, the production side is covered, including video and audio capturing, synchronisation, recording and interchange formats, and compression workflows. Fundamental knowledge on sound engineering and audio technology, including the design, manipulation and production of audio, will be given to you.

In the second part, different classes of media applications are presented, such as conversational (e.g., Skype, audio-visual conferencing), streaming applications (e.g., Video on Demand), and broadcast applications (e.g., mobile TV, satellite TV), and how those applications are classified according to their bandwidth requirements, packet loss, latency, jitter, and synchronisation requirements. This is then followed Internet-based transmission methods, protocols, and techniques for robust media application delivery.

In the third part, audio-visual media quality assessment techniques and Quality of Experience (QoE) models are presented, where media quality is studied using the principles of human perception of audio/video. Examples from modern media transport methods (e.g., HTTP adaptive streaming) with a view to maximising the end-users’ QoE. User interfaces for interactivity (e.g., motion and video sensors, touch and gesture interfaces) and emerging interaction technologies and associated examples will also be presented.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this module, you should be able to:

Demonstrate knowledge of media applications that are in use in modern digital systems, media quality assessment and Quality of Experience (QoE) models, user interfaces and multi-modal interaction technologies.

The principles of multimedia production and requirements of multimedia delivery over networks, in particular the Internet

Assessment

30% Coursework

70% Exam

Future career prospects

Research skills are greatly in demand across the high value industries of the UK. Alongside the taught elements of the programme you will be able to access a tailor-made professional development programme mapped to the Researcher Framework that will support you to market yourself and your skills for a rewarding career. You will get access to:

Exclusive workshops on diverse topics suitable for a research career

Mentoring

Employability Profiling and Careers Support

Your personal development

Enterprise Through the Curriculum is an intrinsic element of every master’s programme at Loughborough University London and has been carefully designed to give students the best possible chance of securing their dream role. From our Skills Check programme to live group projects set by a business or organisation, and from site visits to organisation-based dissertation opportunities, Loughborough University London is the first of its kind to develop a suite of activities and support that is positioned as the underpinning of every student’s experience.

Assessments

Modules are assessed by a combination of essays, group exercises, presentations and time constrained assignments. There may also be exams.

Students will be asked to produce project briefs, concept drawings, user scenarios, storyboards, project blogs and multimedia documentation. Take a look at our modules to see what assessments you can expect to undertake.

Speak to a programme specialist

If you'd like to know more about this programme, you can request an email or telephone call from an academic responsible for the teaching of this programme.